Has Lambo got something to rain on McLaren and Ferrari's parade? This and more from Geneva
No doubt there'll be lots of worthy hybrid superminis, 'funky' crossovers and the like at Geneva tomorrow. But we'll let everyone else talk about them. Because the PH remit is a little narrower, which saves on the shoe leather a little.
Ferrari has managed the pre-launch hype
So what's cooking for Geneva 2013? Hypercars, in a word, and one of the most thrilling head-to-head launches since the days of Countach and Testarossa, 959 and F40 or 12C and 458 Italia. Note the one constant in all these - Ferrari. And you can be sure sharp elbows will be required for the Ferrari press conference at 11:45am (Geneva time) tomorrow when the covers finally come off
the F150, or whatever it's going to be called. Can
the P1 hold its head high in cool technical superiority faced with such theatre? Can't wait to find out and talk to some of the folk behind both and discover more.
That's just the start of the excitement though. Geneva will also see the arrival of the new 991-era 911 GT3. Still the purists' choice or now just another 911 sub-variant? More when we have it.
Alfa 4C was here as a concept last time
You can be sure Lamborghini won't want to be left out of the party either. There's word of an Aventador-based 'Veneno' with 700hp-plus, a pricetag that'd cover an F150 AND a P1 with a million to spare (that's over £3m, maths fans) and a production run of ... three. No hybrid nonsense, just lots of razor-sharp carbon, track-influenced aero and a socking great naturally-aspirated V12. We'll know more tonight at the VW group preview night when Lambo boss Stephen Winkelmann tap dances onto the stage in his pointy shoes. Going to be a late one...
The Americans are getting in on the act too, chopping the roof off the new Corvette to create, well, a Corvette convertible. The better to hear that new V8 with then. If they sell it over here. Another coupe losing its head will be the GT86, promised to be debuting in new roadster form. Or at least toe-in-the-water 'concept' guise. Unlike the Alfa 4C, which debuts in production form.
New Golf GTI faces a tough fight from the off
For those of us looking for something PH-worthy at a slightly more attainable and real-world level the world debut of
the A45 AMG is a big moment for the Mercedes performance division. Essential diversification or spreading itself too thin and abandoning its V8 mega barge heartland? We'll see, but talk of a hardcore spec A45, stripped and caged R26.R style but apparently as you could order from your Mercedes dealership with the right boxes ticked on the options list, has us interested. Howsoever specced, will the new entry-level AMG hoover up what's left of the posh hot hatch market from the new Mk7 Golf GTI also making its debut? Tense times at VW for sure, with added in-house competition from the Sportback version of the
new Audi S3 too, not to mention ever-ambitious Kia taking its first nibble at the GTI's heels with the new GT version of the
Cee'd and Pro_cee'd also debuting.
And what of the Brits? Well, if you like your performance big, wafty and expensive you've got the choice of the new Rolls-Royce Wraith coupe - the marque's most dynamic car ever it says here - or a four-door option in the shape of the new Bentley Flying Spur. Jaguar and Land Rover will be keen not to be left out of the limelight either.
New Flying Spur moves things along
Away from the mainstream the joy of Geneva is checking out the tuners and specialist supercar builders. We were rather taken with this
700hp CLS from Carlsson but there's sure to be more to see. We'll be bringing you standalone stories on the big hitters, Dan will be running a liveblog from the showfloor and Tweeting the latest news too. So keep it PH - full fat Geneva coverage without a hybrid* or compact crossover concept in sight!
*OK, other than those ones from McLaren and Ferrari...
